Help! New Build Spec Ideas Required!

bharatg

bharatg

bharatg

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Joined
4 Jul 2010
Posts
11
Hi all! Great to finally join the forum!

I know there is a huge knowledge base within this forum so I would like to pick you brains on a new PC build please:

Some background
I was very close to purchasing a semi-ok home desktop from Dell but then decided to have a shot at building my own, assuming that I will be able to get more bang for my buck. I'm an experienced software engineer with a computing degree so I'm sure I'll be comfortable building one, my only difficulty is knowing what is currently the best value/quality gear for my needs as I've been out of touch indivudal components...hence where you come in ;)

What do I need?
A PC which can:
- Store a lot of media
- Allows me watch my media from my TV in another room (I'm assuming the only way I can do this is via Wirless Streaming to PS3 or similar via Windows Media Centre, is the quality good enough?, I want to get the best quality possible for my budget HD if possible).
- Photo & Video Editing (nothing major just amateur stuff)
- A silent or very quiet PC if possible (I assume this is down to Case, Fans)
- A slick black case, there are so many, which one is good? I don't want fancy lights just a decent quality case which is quiet and has room for expandability, a Mid Size case I presume...

I won't be gaming on the PC, nor will I be browsing much as I have an Ipad. I just want a data store really with the capability to run Windows Media Centre effectively and function as a normal PC if required.

What advice or opinions do I want from you?
- A recommended spec would be great, with details on which Motherboard, CPU, RAM, Media/Graphics Card, Storage, Case, Monitor, Anything else??

What is my budget?
I would say a max of £500 excluding Monitor. The dell PC was around £400 I think but I don't mind spending a bit more on a custom build to get me something that will last for a good few years,

Your help is most appreciated!

BG
 
Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB SATA-II 64MB Cache - OEM (WD20EARS) £97.98
(£83.39) £97.98
(£83.39)
Asus M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 AMD 880G (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £93.99
(£79.99) £93.99
(£79.99)
Patriot G Series 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Dual Channel (PGS34G1333ELK) £88.99
(£75.74) £88.99
(£75.74)
AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core 635 2.90GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £80.99
(£68.93) £80.99
(£68.93)
Silverstone SST-PS03B Precision Midi Tower Case - Black £42.99
(£36.59) £42.99
(£36.59)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3500418AS) £39.99
(£34.03) £39.99
(£34.03)
Corsair CX 400W ATX Power Supply (CMPSU-400CXUK) £36.99
(£31.48) £36.99
(£31.48)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler (Socket 939 / AM2 / AM3 / 775 / 1156 / 1366) £18.99
(£16.16) £18.99
(£16.16)
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
(£11.91) £13.99
(£11.91)
Sub Total : £438.22
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.25
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £78.66
Total : £528.13

got a 500gb windows boot drive for programs and software.

a 2Tb storage drive.

quad core cpu.

SATA and USB3.0

onboard graphics.

nice quiet black case, and quiet cpu cooler.
 
That was quick! How did you choose those components?

I am yet to read through each of the components you've chosen, but I would like to hear your opinion on media streaming? Is it best to hard wire my TV to the PC? Or will wirelessly streaming the data be sufficent. I don't really want to switch on my PS3 each time I want to use Media centre, seems a bit of a pain.

Basically what is the optimum connection from TV to PC Media Centre?

Many Thanks!!
 
What TV do you have?

Basically what is the optimum connection from TV to PC Media Centre?
Click to expand...

optimum is a difficult word to define

personally i would say HTPC running xbmc connected to pc via gb network although you may find that a simple wireless receiver could do the trick
 
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Stulid's suggestion looks pretty good, however I'd suggest also having a look at this drive as it's also on special offer atm.

(Afraid I can't be of much helping when it comes to streaming)
 
bharatg said:
That was quick! How did you choose those components?

I am yet to read through each of the components you've chosen, but I would like to hear your opinion on media streaming? Is it best to hard wire my TV to the PC? Or will wirelessly streaming the data be sufficent. I don't really want to switch on my PS3 each time I want to use Media centre, seems a bit of a pain.

Basically what is the optimum connection from TV to PC Media Centre?

Many Thanks!!
Click to expand...

not got a clue about streaming to a PS3, will wifi be fast enough? how about using those powerline senders?

Are you wanting to be in another room with your PS3, and be able to browse the AUDIO/VIDEO stuff on the 2tb harddrive? and just stream it through to the tv?
 
Wireless connection to the tv might struggle with content above 720p
(and most ethernet/powerline senders are **** we have been testing them with the WD TV Live+ and they just carnt handle 1080p)

Custom PC mag has a good guide in this month how to build a £400 Decent spec pc might be worth picking up a copy.
All id say about the article is get a intel i3 processor instead of the one they recomend as its not as good the i3 is only £20 more.
 
I would go with Stulid's suggestion for a pc and as for the streaming....Wireless is terrible for streaming really....I would suggest using an Ethernet cable or like me buying a big hard drive for the ps3 and copying over everything or use a 2.5 external hdd for copying stuff from pc and playing off on the ps3....
I tried 1080p through wireless=Terrible
Ethernet=Good but meant my pc had to be on
Internal hdd-Perfect
External hdd=Perfect
 
Well Westie said there not very good and i havent got any experience with them....I might be interested in trying them though so you:
Plug in wall
Plug Ethernet from router?
Plug in wall somewhere else
Plug in another Ethernet from plug to pc?
 
Thanks for all the responses!!

Stulid your spec looks sound - I've had a read through each component and they all seem great with good reviews to support them. I won't be surprised If I lose my patience and buy the spec you've provided - although I will check out that Custom PC mag for that article Westie69 mentioned.

In terms of streaming my data - I again agree with you all in that streaming will probably cause me more problems that its worth - Buying a HD Portable Drive which I can hook into the TV directly or PS3 would be much better for quality. The only concern is having the ability to access my data whenever I please - without having to transfer from PC etc! I'm all about convenience... Plus I really like the Windows Media Centre interface, will the movies covers etc at your fingertips, I'm sure the wife will like that.

Sounds like I need to do some in depth research on the ability to stream HD content...

In the meantime - I should concentrate on getting the best PC for my budget and you all have helped - please keep your ideas rolling in :)
 
I've been trying to PM stulid but am finding it impossible to do on this forum...

Hey stulid - if you get this, I tried purchasing the exact spec you provided on post #2- spent the last week reading reviews checking similar products and I like your product reccomnedation selection very much!

Only problem is - the MB is out of stock - any alternatives? Or do you reccomened I wait for this to come back in - do you know how long it usually takes for stock to re-appear approx?

Nice one
 
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